The general problem to which the research proposed here is addressed concerns the factors which govern or affect ethnic relations and processes of assimilation and acculturation in local settings of polyethnic societies. The specific objective of the proposed study is the gathering and analysis of ethnographic data on the relationship of Non-Malay ethnic groups to Malay society in and around a rural Malayan town in the Malaysian state of Kelantan of relevance to several hypothesis derived from a general proposition about ethnic relations. Several scholars have recently argued that the forces which govern the relationship of ethnic groups are political and economic in nature and that such ethnic processes as assimilation and acculturation should be regarded as adaptative strategies which will be utilized selectively according to the circumstances in which an ethnic group finds itself. Broadly speaking such arguments oppose those which suggest that cultural or psychological factors are of predominant causal significance. The rural market towns and administrative centers of Northern Malaya constitute polyethnic settings which provide an excellent opportunity to conduct ethnographic research which is highly relevant and particularly interesting in regard to such arguments. The types of Non-Malay groups present and the variations in their relationship to Malay society make it possible to make some explicit test of processes of ethnic interaction and ethnic change. The proposed research is ethnographic and will build upon eighteen months previous research in the same region by the principal investigator. The project will involve three months of field work.